Charter Spectrum and Cox Merge Cable Companies in Mega Deal

In one of the biggest telecom acquisitions in years, the cable giants Charter Communications and Cox Communications have agreed to merge in a $34.5 billion deal.

Charter is the second largest cable company in the U.S. after Comcast, while Cox is also among the largest with six million subscribers. Combining the two companies would create a cable behemoth, with enormous scale in both broadband internet connectivity and video.

Charter’s footprint includes New York City and Los Angeles, while Cox is a major player in cities like Boston, Phoenix and New Orleans. Assuming the deal closes, the combined company will be led by Charter CEO Chris Winfrey, with Cox CEO Alex Taylor serving as board chairman. The company would be called Cox Communications, with Spectrum being the brand that it uses for its consumer-facing business.

During a morning analyst call, Winfrey elaborated that Charter in adding Cox would secure additional scale on broadband and mobile and in allowing Charter to take on the tech giants and their dominance in video and advertising. “This transformational transaction will create an industry leader in mobile and broadband communication services and seamless video entertainment, and it marries Charter’s customers and employee-focused operating strategy with Cox’s long standing reputation for service quality and investment.”

Winfrey stressed privately-run Cox was not a seller as it was exchanging equity for the new company, and emerging with a 23 percent ownership of shares. Advance/Newhouse, parent of Bright House Networks, holds an additional 10 percent stake in Charter, with other shareholders holding a 67 percent holding in the cable giant.

Winfrey added the Cox family will effectively take the place of Liberty Broadband as a longterm source of capital for Charter, including joining the company’s board. Liberty Broadband said that it would accelerate its own acquisition by Charter to coincide with the Cox deal, and will cease to be a stakeholder after the transaction closes.

Cox CEO Taylor added on the analyst call: “I would call this organization (Charter) and this whole partnership a powerhouse of integrity and trust and hard work and long term commitment that you won’t find anywhere else, and that’s why we’re comfortable with this.”

The company will be based in Charter’s headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, while maintaining a large presence at Cox’s Atlanta, Georgia hub.

Winfrey told analysts the merger deal could close in 2026, but it will need to navigate a regulatory environment that has been tougher than many companies had anticipated. “This is a highly competitive space. There is no overlap between the companies. And from a competitive standpoint, this is good because it allows us to actually invest more into the footprint, to have better products, have better service, invest more in AI and invest more in U.S.-based jobs,” Winfrey argued as he laid out his company’s argument for regulators to secure approval for the Cox deal.

The merger transaction with Cox is expected to be completed when the Liberty Broadband merger closes.

Spectrum’s local stations will expand to Cox’s footprint, with Cox ownership of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution also a factor. Winfrey added Charter’s Spectrum app, with cable, broadband, mobile and other services, will be quickly rolled out to Cox customers.

“Our immediate focus post-closing will be on the deployment of our industry leading products and pricing and packaging across the Cox footprint, marrying the best products with the fastest speeds and modern entertainment solutions with the ability for customers to save hundreds or even thousands of dollars each year,” Winfrey told analysts.

He addressed a question about how the Charter-Cox deal may impact existing affiliate agreements with programming partners, while insisting he would not comment directly on agreements and would contact partners like Verizon directly. “As it relates to our vendor partner agreements, I don’t have any concerns of any material way of our ability to ultimately integrate this over time. But I don’t want to get into contractual terms,” he said.